Campaign on the Social Protection Floor

Knowing that more than 1.4 billion people still struggle to live on less than $1.25 a day (World Bank), it is obvious that much more must be done to eradicate the scourge of extreme poverty. The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) coordinate the Social Protection Floor Initiative (SPF-I) as a joint UN effort to build a global coalition committed to supporting countries in building national social protection floors for their citizens.

A Social Protection Floor (SPF) is the first level of a comprehensive national social protection system that helps to realize human rights for all through guaranteeing:1. Universal access to essential services (such as health, education, housing, water and sanitation and other services as nationally defined);2. Social Transfers in cash or kind to guarantee income security, food security, adequate nutrition and access to essential services.

Countries will develop nationally defined strategies for the progressive realization and sustainability of their floor as well as higher levels of social protection in line with their needs, preferences and financial capacities. Building on existing social protection mechanisms these strategies may include a mix of contributory and non-contributory, targeted and universal, public and private instruments depending on the social economic and political context.

In summary, the SPF is: • Universal- It includes everyone.• Rights- based – (enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)• Nationally owned and designed.• The first step in an ongoing process – not a ceiling of benefits. • Affordable by all countries.

2. By forming a network to get as many signatures as possible to promote the initiative with your own government. You can sign as an individual or as an organization.

This signature campaign can be used as a tool for lobbying at national and global levels. The most important purpose of the campaign is to convince national government that the Social Protection Floor is needed and wanted by its citizens and must be included in national development policies. We see this initiative as a wonderful opportunity to work together to roll back poverty, to put social protection at the heart of the international development agenda and to strengthen the chance for every person to live with dignity.